In most New Jersey crashes, your own auto policy's Personal Injury Protection (PIP) pays your medical bills right away, regardless of fault. Electric scooter riders are the major exception. If you were hit by a car while riding a stand-up e-scooter, here's why PIP usually won't pay and where the money for treatment comes from instead.
The Supreme Court's answer: scooter riders aren't "pedestrians"
New Jersey's No-Fault Act requires auto policies to pay PIP when the insured is occupying or using an automobile, or is a pedestrian (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4). The Act defines a pedestrian as a person who is not occupying a vehicle "propelled by other than muscular power and designed primarily for use on highways, rails and tracks" (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-2(h)). New Jersey courts had long treated bicyclists as pedestrians under that definition.
In Goyco v. Progressive Insurance Co. (N.J. May 14, 2024), the rider was hit by a car in Elizabeth while on a stand-up electric scooter, and his auto insurer denied PIP. A unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court held that a low-speed electric scooter rider is not a pedestrian under the No-Fault Act and isn't entitled to PIP benefits. The Court rejected the argument that the 2019 law applying bicycle rules to scooters (N.J.S.A. 39:4-14.16(g)) changed the No-Fault definition, and said expanding PIP to scooter riders was a policy decision for the Legislature.
The 2026 law didn't change that for scooters
On January 19, 2026, New Jersey enacted P.L. 2025, c. 285. Among other changes, it defines "pedestrian" for PIP purposes to include people riding a bicycle or low-speed electric bicycle, so their injuries are covered by their own PIP (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.8). That section applies to auto policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.
The new section doesn't mention low-speed electric scooters. Unless the Legislature acts again, Goyco remains the rule for stand-up scooter riders.
Where medical bills get paid instead
- Health insurance. For most scooter riders, health insurance becomes the primary payer. Use it, and keep every explanation of benefits. Your health plan may later seek repayment from a settlement. How liens work.
- The at-fault driver's liability insurance. Medical expenses not paid by PIP can be part of your injury claim against the driver who hit you, along with lost wages and pain and suffering.
- Medicaid or Medicare, if you're covered. Both have repayment rights.
- Medical payments coverage on another policy, if one applies. Read the definitions carefully, since many policies tie coverage to an "auto."
What this means for your injury claim
- Your medical bills are part of the claim. In a normal New Jersey car case, bills PIP pays generally can't be recovered again from the at-fault driver. When PIP doesn't apply, more of your economic losses belong in the claim against the driver.
- Coverage limits matter more. New Jersey's minimum auto policies can carry low liability limits, so serious scooter injuries can exceed the at-fault driver's coverage quickly. Whether your own auto policy's underinsured motorist coverage applies depends on the policy language.
- The verbal threshold question. Whether New Jersey's limitation on lawsuit rules apply to a scooter rider who owns an insured car is a question to review with a lawyer. How the verbal threshold works.
If you were riding an e-bike, not a scooter
The classification of your device matters. A rider of a low-speed electric bicycle (pedal-assist up to 20 mph) will be treated as a pedestrian for PIP under policies issued or renewed from January 1, 2027. A stand-up scooter rider won't. Scooter, e-bike or moped?
Practical steps
- Still report the crash to your own auto insurer if you have one, and get any denial in writing.
- Give your health insurance information to every provider.
- Photograph the scooter, including any label showing its model and top speed. Classification can matter.
- Keep every bill and receipt, since more of them may be recoverable from the driver.
See our scooter accidents page.